Apple raised the price of iPhone models in Japan by between ¥8,000 to ¥25,000, on July 18, with even the lowest price model, the iPhone 17e, now costing over ¥100,000. | JIJI
Aug 6, 2026
A sudden surge in used smartphone sales last month after Apple raised the price of its iPhones reveals how the weak yen and shifts in communication industry practices are reshaping Japan’s consumer market for popular handsets.
Nicosuma, an online marketplace for used smartphones, saw a rush of sales just hours after Apple’s announcement on July 18, with orders more than doubling as of noon compared to the same period the previous day and a week earlier.
“Such a spike is quite rare,” said Yu Tomita, chief marketing officer at Tokyo-based Belong, the operator of Nicosuma and a subsidiary of major trading house Itochu. “The only comparable case we can think of is the iPhone price hike four years ago.”
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